Scandalous
by Lady Elena Dawson
Summary: Aria finds herself in the worst of situations as A threatens to reveal her new little secret. But how will Ezra, her friends, and family react when the threats send her fleeing town? Will she ever find herself back home? My take on a commonly used topic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm new to this fandom, but I have to say: I'm glad I was convinced to watch _Pretty Little Liars_! I've read the books and love them, but I didn't like how Aria and Ezra's relationship just...ended. In the TV show, I was pleased to see their relationship was still working out.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! This is just a prologue, so the next ones will be longer, I promise!**

_**Scandalous**_

_**By Lady Elena Dawson**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Pretty Little Liars—**_**neither TV show nor books by Sara Shepard.**

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**Chapter 1**

Positive.

The two lines that had always reminded Aria of math class and the Christian faith glared holes into her now tainted soul, something the religious would call sin. Though she never uttered much of a prayer, she could feel her brain struggling to find the right words she learned years back, the guilt eating her up from the inside as the heat flushed out of her body and replaced it with a cold, dreadful lump in the pit of her stomach.

Her long-ago healed OCD creeping up inside her, she started to fidget by clicking her fingernails to the point of breakage. She would prefer to chew them into bits instead, but she couldn't find the courage to stick them into her utterly dry mouth; and most of all, she wished all of this was a dream, or, more accurately, a nightmare. Heck, she would pick waking up in a horrible sweat over this world-stopping reality she was experiencing at that moment.

The test was positive.

For a while she'd been feeling queasy and dizzy, almost as though she had the flu, but…not. Usually the nausea would just blow away in the next few minutes, and other times it would become so unbearable she'd throw up her breakfast. And for a while she forced herself to believe that it was just one of those things that would pass, but it never did—so she had to accept the facts and bought a pregnancy test.

Fingers convulsing horribly, she reached into the blue plastic bag, which crinkled loudly in the small tiled bathroom, and pulled out another unused test. _Maybe it was a defect, _she told herself as she licked her dry lips and prepared to take it again. _You never know…_

Maybe it was all a dream, and she'd wake up in her bed in a cold sweat after her gnawing nightmare.

But she came crashing back to earth after the next excruciating few minutes passed, and the test came out positive again.

So she was in reality after all.

…

As Aria drove to Spencer's house to spend the night—she had called up her friends and told them it was an emergency, meanwhile tossing the two positive tests in her bag for show—her fingers tapped on the steering wheel nervously. She couldn't disagree that she was agitated, but she was also in denial that all of this was happening to her. Yes, she had been a rebel for a while, but she didn't think her strong opinions and tenuous moral code would get _this f_ar.

Aria, she told herself, was supposed to be the girl known for her bohemian style and shocking resemblance to Rachel Weisz, who had given her the inspiration to do her eyeliner the same way as Evelyn Carnahan after a showing of _The Mummy _at Rosewood's local theater. She was supposed to be remembered as the girl with the pink stripe in her hair, not the girl who became pregnant by her ex-English teacher.

God, how wrong that sounded! If word got out whom the father of her baby was—she already knew she was having it; abortion was out of the question—things would get messy really fast. And the last thing she needed was another issue to add to her long list of dramatic experiences that happened this year aside from A, which was a whole entity of its own.

As though she predicted it, her phone rang, giving out a short beep that signaled a new text message. Heart pounding tremendously hard in her chest, she ignored it, telling herself the excuse was no texting while driving. But then another beep permeated the tension-filled air, and she no longer knew who it was from. Didn't A usually send just one threatening text at a time?

Sliding her tongue along her dry lips, she began fidgeting with her fingers again, tapping away. No way was this happening right now. Bile rose in her throat, and she knew she was going to vomit, but…

The feeling quickly subsided. One of the many perks of pregnancy, she guessed. Though her mind was plagued with terrifying thoughts of her parents' reactions when they figured out what was wrong—or, to put it more specifically, what was growing inside her and who helped produce it—she attempted to push it out. After all, Ezra would be by her side once he learned that his child was on the way…

Wouldn't he be?

Suddenly, she jumped when her phone was bombarded with another text message, three more beeps ringing out. _Who could this be? _Aria fumed exasperatedly as she came to a stop at a red light.

Fumbling for her phone which had lit up again on the dashboard, she unlocked it and saw the list of messages from an unknown number. She sighed as she opened the first one, which contained the file to an old picture A took to bribe Hanna into spilling her illegal secret. The other had no text but another picture, this one of her and Ezra making out in the car at Mona's birthday party. Her mind becoming crazed by the many texts, she opened the next one—her and Ezra at the museum; and the other—her and Ezra speaking tensely at Ian's funeral. By the time there was one text left, she was shaken: A had this much evidence on her?

As she trembled in her seat, heart pounding in her throat, she quickly opened the next text haphazardly. What it read made her free hand roam down to her stomach naturally, as though protecting what was being blackmailed inside.

_Poor, foolish Aria. See where lying has gotten you? Remember, I can't always keep your secrets. And I'll be there to spill them first if you don't take the lead. That baby bump can't hide forever! –A_

There came an aggravated honk from behind her, and Aria threw her phone on the passenger seat and uneasily and unseeingly began to drive. Now she couldn't wait to arrive at Spencer's house to tell her friends all about what happened.

What was she going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I pray this is realistic enough. I'm pretty much a sucker for realism and not all this fluffy, gooey alternate universe stuff I see around in fandoms. So, I hope you enjoy this longer chapter! And remember, reviews make my day extra special!**

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**Chapter 2**

Pulling into Spencer's polished driveway, Aria sniffled quietly and peaked at her reflection in the rearview mirror. Horrified, she noted how the makeup adorning her large, hazel eyes had drawn dark streaks down her green-looking cheeks with her tears. After receiving that coldhearted piece of blackmail from A, she worried for herself more than ever before—maybe because a living, breathing being was growing inside her. (Well, living, at least. She had taken bio class last year, and knew perfectly well that the baby didn't even have functioning lungs yet.)

A few minutes later, she found herself still huddled in the driver's seat, eyes wild and mesmerized, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly, her already pale knuckles flushed whiter.

"She's here, you guys!" Aria heard someone—Hanna—call from the front door, which was gaping open. How long had she been standing there, watching Aria drown in her sorrow, sickness, and worry? After glimpsing at Aria's dazed expression, however, her peppy air soured, and she put a concerned hand on her hip, cocking her head; her eyebrows raised and formed troubled creases all along her spotless forehead.

"Aria?" she called, striding haphazardly to her parked vehicle. Meanwhile, Aria had to remind herself to keep breathing, though her gut felt like all air had been punched out of her. "Aren't you going to come inside?"

_Inside? I don't even know what I'm doing here. _

Shaking her head like she was in her own fantasy land, she blinked her dry, crusted eyes a couple of times and wiped her wet nose, unladylike, on her equally parched hand. "Oh? Yeah, I'm fine." But then a rapid tidal wave of nausea flooded her throat, and she put a cautious hand on the door handle. "Actually, I have to go to the bathroom," she sputtered quickly, praying she wouldn't blow chunks all over Hanna's evident new pair of Jimmy Choo slippers. When Hanna made no move except to stare strangely at her, one eye bugging wider than the other as though she was insane, Aria shooed her with her tenuous hands. "Move. _Now._"

As she vomited promptly in the nearest toilet in Spencer's welcoming house, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna stood guard, worrisome at the door. "Is she all right?" Emily asked anxiously and uncertainly, horribly confused about what was going on.

"Does she seem fine?" Spencer snapped rudely, apprehension for her best friend's health getting the best of her. "Team Sparia is out, and the doctor is in," she then joked, but it was more to comfort herself than anyone else.

Emily, not the least bit offended by Spencer's snide remark—in fact, she was used to it—turned to Hanna, her big brown eyes crinkled from the overwhelming sense of stress. "What did she say, Hanna?"

Now Hanna, feeling accused, lifted her hands up in defense as the attention was turned to her. "All she said was that she was fine, then she pushed me aside and ran to the bathroom."

There came the sound of a toilet flushing, followed by a miserable sniffle emanating from behind the door. A couple of gasps later, and the noise of running water blocked Aria's whimpers. The trio felt sympathy tug at their heartstrings when they realized her friend was crying, the faucet having been turned off.

At first, the three of them did nothing but glance at either each other, the wall, the ceiling, or the floor. Spencer studied the Victorian portrait hung above a perky vase of flowers more than she ever did before, realized she was being silly, and presumptuously knocked on the bathroom door, hesitant for a split second, but by then the deed was done. "Aria?" she murmured reluctantly. "Can we come in?"

When no reply came, Emily confidently took ahold of the handle and pushed it open. And there, a lump on the plush rug, was Aria, shakily wiping her wrecked makeup off her pale, sweaty face. Hanna embraced the ugly, sorrowful sight in front of her and pushed past Emily and Spencer, who were standing in the doorway, speechless.

"Oh, sweetie," she murmured, kneeling next to Aria and dabbing under her swollen eyes sympathetically, a small whimper escaping Aria's horrible-tasting throat. "What's wrong?" she asked kindly, handing her the tissue Spencer had retrieved from an open box on the counter. "Are you sick?"

Noisily Aria blew her red, itchy nose after accepting the nice offer from Hanna, and shook her head. "No," she croaked, while Spencer and Emily joined the duo on the cold ground. "It's…worse."

"What do you mean?" Emily inquired—panicking about _the_ worst, such cancer or the stomach flu—before shutting her mouth. Spencer shot her a glare that told her to stop prying. "Sorry…"

Aria's wobbling hazel eyes danced to and from each of her friends' faces, their round, shimmering, anxious orbs of various colors pouring into hers. And she knew that even if she wanted to, she couldn't hide her secret from her friends—not now, not ever. Baggy shirts could only conceal it for so long before she had to fess up to someone.

"I have to tell you guys something," Aria started, sniffling through her clogged nasal passages, "but can we move this to the living room?"

After a few minutes of tension-filled silence, the four friends had set up fort on the couch, blankets draped over them, especially on Aria, who was, at that moment, attempting to gulp away her gnawing nerves. However, the still air eventually became too much, and Spencer's voice made it tremble.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked Aria, hoping their questions didn't create the sense of a police interrogationg. Or, from how Aria was acting, her fidgeting increasingly becoming worse, a parent investigation.

"Yeah," Aria responded automatically as though she was embarrassed to admit she'd been feeling under the weather at all. "It's not the first time…"

"What do you mean, not the first time?" Emily chimed in, always the frantic one. "This has been going on for a while?"

When Aria nodded, almost as though it was impossible for her to move, everyone was stunned silent. "Why haven't you seen a doctor?" Hanna asked the big question everyone was wondering: Why hadn't she?

At first, Aria didn't answer. In fact, she didn't _want _to. But these were her friends, and they were worried about her, and it was killing her to seem so confused and ignorant, all because _she _had been the foolish one. "Because," she replied, wishing so badly she could just shrug it off like it was nothing. "I'm scared of what I might already know…what they'll confirm."

"And what's that, Aria?" Spencer's heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she was afraid that it would jump out of her mouth. Listening intently, she waited for the moment all her jumbled worries would become focused on Aria and whatever problem she was going through.

Sighing heavily, Aria decided it wasn't worth keeping it a secret. So she glanced at her friends—after this, they would no longer be oblivious to what was happening in her love life—and dug into her bag, dragging out the two positive tests and handing them to Spencer, whose expression resembled that of pure confusion—or maybe foreboding.

As soon as Spencer saw the positive sign and recognized the device, her heart stopped, and she gave a start: Her mouth opened in a gawking O-shape, but no words came out. "A-Aria," she stuttered, brows creasing fearfully, "are you…pregnant?"

Startled, Emily lunged for the tests a split second before Hanna did, and the two girls squeezed into the same seat as they studied them, lips parting. And they figured out about it before nasty A could turn them against each other.

"Aria...," Emily began, but she didn't even know where to begin. Meanwhile, silent tears ran down Aria's face, but she hastily swiped them away. She was tired of crying and feeling horrible about her baby. "Does…does Ezra know? Do your parents?"

"No!" Aria snapped, a bit too soon and roughly. "I mean…no. They don't. And I have no idea how I'm going to tell them." Again, she had to bite her lip just to salvage what was rest of her makeup and prevent another mental breakdown. Eventually, though, she couldn't hold it for long. "Guys…" One, two, three tears spotted her cheeks. "I'm…I'm _terrified._" With that, she broke down and sobbed. "What did I do?" she whispered, mumbling her words.

Calmly, Spencer wrapped an arm around Aria's shoulder, laying her head on Aria's shaky one. "It's all right," she soothed while rubbing her back. "Everything will be okay."

"How could I tell them their little girl is pregnant?" Aria cried as Hanna and Emily joined the feeling circle. "I wasn't even supposed to be seeing him. He's been tortured by my family enough. Now, my dad's probably going to send him off to some remote island in the middle of nowhere for ruining his daughter."

"Aria, calm down. Calm down, sweetie, it's okay," Hanna pacified, giving Aria a brief hug. "Let's just talk this through for now, okay? We could figure out how to tell your parents later."

As soon as Aria plugged up her tears and managed to stop shaking as much, they all formed a circle around her like eager, obsequious servants—but they all knew that this was very serious. "First's thing first, I guess," Spencer piped up, clapping her hands. "You have seven or eight months to think about whether to keep the baby or not. But as of now, someone needs to know what you're going through, and it can't be your three teenage best friends who know nothing of childbearing."

"What Spencer means by that," Hanna cut in, rolling her eyes, "is that you need a doctor, Aria. And we can help you find one."

For the first time that day, Aria was able to crack a smile, her lip twisting up at a corner.

"And then you'll need to tell someone you care about," Emily stated, the sternest of the close group. "Like Ezra. Or your parents."

"I thought we were going to talk about that later?" Aria grumbled while she moaned and collapsed backwards on the couch, limp hair spreading out around her head like a fan. "But they need to know…"

"Yeah…," the other three murmured in agreement. The room settled down to the point that it was so silent, the tick of an antique clock on the wall could be heard echoing in the living room.

And, just like that, the thought that Aria was pregnant wasn't so big of a deal anymore. They could get through this, as friends, just like the many other times they squashed huge situations and made it look like a piece of cake. The only difference was: this time, an actual life of an unnamed child was in their hands.

Spencer let out a small giggle, remembering the picture of Aria and Ezra kissing that A had sent her. Then the thought of kooky, amazing Aria hooking up with their ex-English teacher was too awkward to handle, and she burst out laughing—and loudly.

"What's so funny?" Emily asked like Spencer had committed a sin.

"It's just—" Spencer wiped away a stray tear, the stress melting away with each sputter "—you and Mr. Fitz? It's never been able to process in my head."

She only had reason to chortle additionally when Aria's jaw dropped open, low and metaphorically to the floor. Soon, Hanna joined in, and Aria launched a pillow at the two of them, thanking Emily for not choosing sides—even though there was a long, bright smile on her face.

"Stop!" Aria laughed, shoving Spencer playfully as her thoughts roamed to Ezra's handsome, understanding face. "If you had been there…"

However, just with that word—_understanding_—her giddy reminisces were tainted. As her friends continued with their fun, Aria had to put on yet _another _façade, hoping that this time they wouldn't see through it—not until she told him about their baby.

But was he as understanding as she thought he was?


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm starting a new Ezria fic that will take place during the 1920s. So far I've jotted down a few things, and hopefully it'll be up by tomorrow. Check in soon if you want to read it!**

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**Chapter 3**

"Guys, what are we going to do?"

It was the middle of the night and the girls were still processing what Aria had told them. She had fallen asleep an hour ago, which hadn't surprised them; she looked absolutely exhausted, after all the tears and the vomiting and the ordeal of the revelation. Despite Aria's ease to pass out, though, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily couldn't summon enough fatigue to close their eyes and dream away.

"What can we do, Spence? This is Aria's problem, not ours," Hanna said, the effect of her words slapping her full in the face when Spencer shot her a dirty look. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

"She's right," Emily piped up reluctantly, Spencer's accusatory face now turning to her. Squeamish, she continued to play with the dried nail polish on her fingernails. "I mean, it's not like we have to go through _every day_ in her condition. The only thing we _can_ do is support her the best we can."

"All right, I get it," Spencer sighed as she chewed over any ideas. "But we have to do _something,_ don't you think?" Lethargy slowly starting to overwhelm her, a crazy scenario popped into her head as one always did when it was extremely late, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. "What if she doesn't tell her parents until it's too late?"

"Then we don't get involved," Hanna said simply.

"What Hanna means is, we don't get involved with her parents, but we do give her words of encouragement," Emily elaborated.

Spencer rolled her eyes. "I think we're overanalyzing this." She stared at Aria's sleeping face, so content if it weren't for the stains on her cheeks. "Now, I say we start by doing the best we can, like Emily said. I know a doctor she could go to who won't tell her parents."

Emily agreed with Spencer and said that she could help Aria cope, since she'd had experience with that since her homosexuality was revealed a while back. The two cast their stares on Hanna, waiting to hear what she had to offer.

"What?" she said. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

"Hanna!" Emily and Spencer groaned, rolling their eyes.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She put her hands up in defense then let out a long, pent-up sigh. Worry lines formed on her pore-less forehead, and the seriousness of the conversation settled back in. "It will be hard telling Fitz, won't it?"

As obvious as the answer was, Spencer raised an eyebrow at Hanna's question. "Of course it will be! He's our ex-English teacher, and she slept with him!"

"But no one has to know that!" Emily blurted, shutting her mouth when she realized how much her voice rose. Dropping her tone to a whisper, she continued. "Look, eventually everyone will know Aria's pregnant. But that doesn't mean they have to know who the father is."

"Even if they had to guess, Mr. Fitz would most definitely _not _be the first one on the list," Spencer scoffed, anxiety overcoming her.

A highly uncomfortable silence blanketed the three of them, unusual to the group; the only sound was that of their slow breathing. Glancing down at the floor in discomfort, Hanna spoke. "Guys, I'm more worried than I should be," she admitted as the heaviness was lifted from her shoulders. "I don't want Aria getting hurt."

"None of us do, Hanna." Emily put in her input. "But we can't stop it from happening."

"A has a stronger hold on us now," Spencer interrupted, shaking her head in disappointment. "Who knows what they could place over Aria's head. I mean, what if A reveals who the father is to all of Rosewood? He'll be arrested, and Aria will be devastated."

"More than devastated," Emily agreed, anxiety nipping in her stomach.

Sighing tiredly, Hanna repositioned herself on her sleeping bag and shook her head to clear it of its newly formed headache. "Look, we can't think of that right now," she stated. "Let's get some rest and we'll see how things are in the morning."

Nodding in agreement, the three girls who had been wide-awake a few minutes ago were now yawning in pure exhaustion that resulted from wracking their brains. But before they could close their eyes and get some shut eye, three rather annoying vibrations sent their heads in a spiral and their stomachs in a cold drop.

Darting up from their lazy positions, the threesome grabbed for their phones, dreading the bright light that appeared when they turned them on to check their texts. A short silence followed, and Spencer announced frigidly:

"'Let's play a game of truth or dare: I dare you to tell the truth, or I'll do it for you. See how playing by the rules makes life a whole lot simpler? A.'"

…

The next morning, Aria entered her home with the pure dread that had lodged itself in her stomach since the day she learned she was pregnant—that someone in her family knew what she was hiding. But when no yells or sobs echoed throughout the hall, she knew that she was still safe.

For now. She understood fully well that keeping the baby a secret from her parents—especially after her dad's secret and the revelation of her affair with Ezra Fitz—was a very, _very _bad idea (to put it simply). But she was so afraid to admit the shame that her mouth dried up whenever she opened her lips to confess—and believe it or not, she'd tried to plenty of times already in the past week.

"Aria?"

Ella came strolling into the hallway where Aria stood, frozen, in front of the door like a frightened, cornered animal, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Are you all right, sweetie?" she asked innocently, concern reverberating in her tone as she brought a freshly dried palm on her daughter's cheek. "You look pale."

The cusp of the words—"I'm pregnant"—lingered on her tongue, but they didn't spill out like she wanted them to. "Yes, I'm fine," she blurted instead, inwardly rolling her eyes as her stomach clenched. "Just didn't get much sleep, that's all."

And, being oblivious as she was, Ella smiled knowingly and pointed an accusing finger at her daughter. "I keep telling you sleep overs aren't your thing, but you don't seem to believe me. _Ever_."

Aria forced out a laugh to replace the guilty tears that really wanted to be released, before noticing that feeling she got before she—

"Actually, Mom, I don't feel so well. I think I'll just go upstairs and lie down for a bit." With that, she bolted up the steps and locked herself in the bathroom, praying that her bile would settle down.

Confused, Ella watched her teenage daughter run up the stairs like she was missing out on her favorite show, and immediately started to worry as all mothers did. Slowly she walked back into the kitchen, where she had been washing dishes, and continued her work while pondering what was on her daughter's mind.

Pleading her heaves to stop, Aria was able to control her weak stomach before she vomited all over the sink. Taking a few steps back into the wall, she slumped onto the floor as tears dotted her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Eventually she couldn't hold back the pain of the guilt or the fear for the future, and cried out the pent-up sobs that were hopefully not loud enough for her ignorant parents and brother to hear.

But her prayers were fruitless when there came an anxious knock at the door. "Aria?" It was Mike's voice—sweet, loving brother Mike, thought Aria. "Are you okay in there?"

Wiping away her pathetic tears, she responded, "I'll be fine, Mike. I just…need some space." Her voice cracked near the end as her head spun with the thought of isolating herself from her caring family.

"Are you sure?" he asked, muffled through the door. "Because you don't seem like it…"

Aria's face crinkled up as an overwhelming sense of disgrace washed over her, making her shake in her small body. "Y-yes," she choked out.

Silence. Then, Mike said, "You know you could trust me, Aria." But this only made Aria feel worse.

Yes, she trusted her brother—but with something as huge as the next addition to the Montgomery family tree? If it wasn't for the father, maybe the situation wouldn't be as bad…

After calming down a bit, Aria sniffled and had no idea if Mike was still there. "Mike?" she called out, trying to stand up on her weak legs.

"Yeah?" He really had waited for her.

"Can you keep a secret?" She knew she would regret this, but she needed more than her unrelated friends to tell.

"Of course."

Sighing despairingly, Aria placed her hand on the doorknob, knowing that once she stepped out of the safety of the bathroom, there was no going back. "Okay," she said, glancing at her broken reflection in the mirror. "I'm coming out."

…

Unpacking her things from the sleep over, Aria made herself busy as the secret chewed itself in her head before spitting itself out into the right words for her lips. "You know how Mr. Fitz and I were dating?"

Mike nodded, the only one to have seen through the façade with her and Holden. "Yeah."

"Well, there was a time when intimacy took over, and…" She paused, closing the dresser drawer and sighing through her pounding heart. "…it didn't end well."

Of course, she knew that Mike _must _have the sneaky suspicion of what she meant, but when he didn't answer right away she went to fixing her ruined makeup to keep herself occupied. She'd thought enough of the baby already, and she no longer wanted to hate it, but love it for who it was and how it happened.

"What do you mean, Aria?" The question Aria had been fearing was finally asked, even though she wished he could have just read her scrambled brain.

"I mean," Aria began, turning around to face his muddled, pale face, and that's when she knew that he fearfully awaited it too, "that I'm having a baby, and you're going to be an uncle."

There. That wasn't so bad. Mike's face blanched to the point that he could have blended into the white walls at school, and at first Aria thought he was going to pass out. But he came around soon enough, and unfortunately he was on her case. "What do you mean, you're having a baby? I mean, what did you _do_? And with Mr. Fitz? This can't be right!"

Tears brimming her eyes for the multiple time that _day, _Aria pounced on his shocked reaction. "I trust you won't tell anyone about this, especially not Mom and Dad," she stated like an order. "They've fought enough in the past year." There was a short pause, Mike's mouth warbling but nothing coming out. Aria took it as her opportunity to get out of the house and the tension-filled air. "Now, I need to go settle something with someone."

With that, she rushed out of her room and into her car, wishing that driving away would make her a person without a care in the world.

…

Hollis College wasn't so active at that time of day, with classes over and breaks commencing. But for Aria, it was the most proactive place to be at that moment, for she knew that the man of her dreams was in his office in there, oblivious to the war his girlfriend was fighting—and she was going to tell him so he could struggle with her.

Of course, when she put it _that _way, it appeared completely and utterly selfish. But so was keeping the baby to herself, and so she decided to pull him down with her instead of leave him heartbroken and cold to her in the future.

The halls of the college were pretty much bare, save for a few lingering students catching up and gossiping about the day. A couple of them even glanced up at her, maybe because they'd seen her playing flirt in Mr. Fitz's office. One of the people who could have possibly recognized her looked up and saw her stand, struggling with herself, in front of Ezra's office door. In fact, they didn't stop staring, and as Aria processed what she was about to do, she couldn't help but stare back at the boy, who waved to his buddies and started to whisper—again, probably about her.

Defeated, she took her fist up and, without another thought, knocked on the door. "Come in," she heard his melodic voice speak, and she opened the door with a shaky hand.

When Ezra stopped grading his papers and chewing his thumbnail, he noticed Aria and a bright smile erupted over his face. "Aria," he said cheerfully, playing with his pen. "I thought we were meeting up later."

Just by the way he was looking at her, as though she was the most precious thing in the world, made her heart flutter instead of thump annoyingly in her chest. "We are," she sighed, chewing on her lower lip. Reaching behind her, she closed the door and shut the blinds that adorned the window. "But we need to talk now."


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: A has not been revealed, Ezra is still working at Hollis, and summer has started for the girls.**

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**Chapter 4**

When Aria had first met Ezra Fitz, she had just moved back to Rosewood after a year abroad in Iceland. Though she had grown up in Rosewood, she still felt like an outsider, even after twelve months away; she'd always been kooky, artistic Aria. Never cool, sexy Aria. Just that…plain, strange, and hostile girl, the one who had some anti-people shield around her.

But then there had been Alison. And what came with Alison was Aria's opportunity to step away from her awkward, lonely—and awfully confused—circle and be reborn as someone new and fresh. So she became the cool, sexy Aria she wanted to be—with the pink streaks of hair, of course.

After Ali disappeared, she took Aria's big family secret to the grave, too, and Aria moved away from Pennsylvania, redefined her image in Europe (including getting rid of her hot pink stripes), and returned with a completely different, more confident and content persona.

Not that she ever stopped thinking of Alison. In fact, that's exactly what she had been doing when she had stopped at a college bar to recuperate and assimilate back into Rosewood's idealistic culture. Her awkward, perplexing past had kept sneaking up on her, threatening to transform her back into the isolated girl she was.

Then he had spoken, and she had replied, and their comments had turned into flirtatious ones. They had talked about Europe and literature, had a couple of drinks, and ended up passionately kissing in the women's bathroom—Aria had never felt so alive. That's when she knew that Icelandic Aria was there to stay.

Typical story, one would say, and completely unoriginal and horribly repetitive. But not when that sweet, sensitive guy you were making out with was also your new English teacher.

Now, as the blood circulated in her ears, her whole life flashed before her eyes in jeering, menacing blurbs. She saw her five-year-old self in her head and thought: How could sweet, innocent, loveable Aria Montgomery get pregnant at seventeen? How could she do that to herself?

Truth was, it definitely wasn't in _her _plans either.

Overwhelmed, Aria felt the bout of nausea and dizziness overcome her, and Ezra's once-smiling face blurred and warped in front of her. She was able to make out his lean frame jump out of his chair, his voice calling her name even though it translated as a warbled echo in her eardrums. His warm, protective hands took ahold of her elbows and led her to the sofa—oh, so many memories in here—where she promptly burst into guilt-ridden tears.

At first, she was crying about the blameless, helpless baby growing inside her, and how he/she/it didn't have any choice but to be mothered by a seventeen-year-old girl—who was still maturing, she couldn't help but point out. But then the memories of her dad's affair, all the fun times she had with Alison and her group of friends, and her loneliness before encompassed her and shook her up, making her nerves jangle roughly. Looking back on it, Aria could remember the struggle she had accepting who she was, and how no one wanted to see past her uniqueness and take the time to know that she was a fabulous, detailed painter and a wonderful, delicate potter. No one wanted to know that she wrote all her personal diary stuff as though it was a dramatic novel, nor did they bother to ask her what her favorite movie or book was—which Ezra knew to be _It Happened One Night _and _To Kill a Mockingbird._

Next to Alison, he was the only one who ever cared. And as her strange yet happy childhood loomed in the far back of her mind, she returned to the shattering present after her trip down memory lane, and was met by her former teacher's pleasant blue eyes.

"Aria," he whispered into her ear as he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her frail, weeping shoulders. "Aria, it's okay. Whatever it is, you're safe." Then he mumbled the two syllables that always made her melt in his embrace. "I'm here."

Whimpering, Aria was able to suck up the broken pieces of her life and at least dump them in a pile to be put back together later. But for right now, there were more important matters to discuss other than her past full of rather low self-esteem and peculiarity.

Wiping her wet eyes with her sleeve, she sniffled quickly and stared into his concerned baby blues. "I'm sorry," she stammered as another bout of tears flooded her, while also standing up. "Maybe I should come back—"

"No!" Ezra said a little too quickly, jumping out of his seat. His reaction to her questionable, red expression was to loosen his tense muscles and run his fingers through her soft, dark tresses. "I'm not letting you go when you're this upset."

Sniffing, Aria's large, hazel eyes bore into Ezra's worried, sympathetic ones. She knew she couldn't keep the baby a secret from him; it would just break his heart, and her own, too. Yet, with her parting lips came the familiar sense of dread, and her stomach clenched into a tight ball, and she knew that maybe…she _shouldn't _tell him.

But those eyes, the ones she adored because they held so much love and care for _her_, quirky Aria and all, made her swoon, even in moments of complete despair and utter hopelessness. Unlike the many times she'd internally fainted, though, this time she actually did fall over as a wave of dizziness swept over her, blurring her vision.

"Oh God!" Ezra gasped in surprise as she came tumbling down again, but he caught her just in time—his arms encircling her flat stomach—and dropped onto the couch with her. "Aria, are you okay?"

_No, _she wanted to whine. _No, because I'm going to be a mother, and I know absolutely nothing about being a role model, or how to act around a child, or even how to care for one._

"No," she sputtered out, but that's all she said, and she gave no further explanation.

Ezra's warm, comforting hands pulled her closer to him, and he attempted to tilt her chin up with his index finger, but she still couldn't look him directly in the eye. "You can tell me anything, Aria," he whispered in her ear, and she closed her eyes, savoring the gooey sound of his voice. "You can trust me."

With those sticky words rushed back memories of their jokes and fights, their passionate kisses and their hurt tears. In retrospect, Aria could still feel Ezra's lips molding into hers the first day they met, both of their breaths smelling distinctly of alcohol. Even though they were slightly tipsy, though, their first few minutes together weren't wasted: There was something about him that made Aria cling on to him, something that said she could accept his uniqueness and he would accept hers.

Wiping away her pathetic tears, Aria took a deep breath and steadied herself for the inevitable. The whole time she couldn't stop thinking of the little life growing inside her, the one they created together, and that made her feel strangely thrilled and terrified, like she was living in a false reality. It was impossible for her to wrap her head around the entire fact of what they had gotten themselves into by creating new life.

"Ezra," Aria choked out as the words danced at the tip of her tongue. "We've done something really horrible."

Curiosity piqued, Ezra's breath caught in his throat as he braced himself for whatever news she had to bear. He couldn't think of one thing they had done that was so terrible, and all the ideas that flooded his head made him question if they were true: Had Ella had a heart attack? Had Byron kicked Aria out of the house?

At least he could help her with the latter, and possibly accept the major guilt for the former.

But what came out of Aria's mouth made his entire body numb. He could feel Aria's face cringe under his shirt, the sign that she was about to cry, and as they tumbled out her dark-painted nails dug into his chest, rumpling his new tie.

"I-I'm pregnant, Ezra," she sobbed. Okay, so the tie didn't matter as much anymore. "Please don't hate me…"

It was the first time Aria had ever shown Ezra that she had insecurities. Was Aria really that worried that he would throw her out on the streets and abandon her? Was she afraid of being a total outsider again, but this time because she was odd _and _knocked up?

As his cotton shirt became soaked with Aria's tears, he was still utterly dumbfounded. How does one respond to news like that? Aria was a teenager, and he had been her teacher. If their relationship wasn't inappropriate before (which it was), then it was now.

Yes, Aria didn't act like an immature teenager (all the time), but she still was one. While the words sunk in, he couldn't help but start blaming himself for not being the adult figure he was.

A couple months ago when Aria had stopped over his apartment, she tearfully and urgently told him that her parents were considering sending her off to boarding school, and after having had comforted her and murmuring about how much they loved each other, things became steamy a little too fast and neither put a stop to it. At that time, they honestly believed they wouldn't see each other again for a long while.

Yet, here they were—and with the sun setting in the distance, it was also growing dark.

"It's late," Ezra mumbled as her whimpers turned from full-blown sobs to distant whimpers. He rubbed the small of her back unconsciously. "Do you think you could stay over tonight so we could…talk about this?"

Sniffling, Aria nodded, and was able to pull herself together enough to scoot up into a crumbled sitting position. "Let me just call me Spencer," she said while wiping her cheeks and taking out her phone with shaking hands. "I'll need an alibi."

While Aria was on the phone with Spencer—God, what did her friends think of him?—Ezra slowly packed up his desk for the day, contemplating the surreal world around him. Was he still in reality, or was this some twisted dream? When he cut his finger on the edge of someone's essay and started to bleed, however, he knew that everything was solid.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye." Hanging up the phone, Ezra watched as Aria's arms crossed at her chest and her shoulders scrunched together, almost as though she was embarrassed. He strolled over to her side, suitcase in one hand, and draped his arm around her, hoping she'd lean into him so that they could leave. But she didn't move an inch, and just stood there, her pretty eyes staring down at the ground as she heaved through her mouth.

As a wave of something Ezra couldn't define washed over him, he set his bag down and instinctually placed his hands on her pale, clammy cheeks. "Aria," he whispered, and he still believed it was the most beautiful name in the world. Reluctantly, she gazed back at him and he stroked her soft skin. "You're not going through this alone. I won't allow that to happen to you." Lovingly, he pushed her hair behind her ear, smiling his boyish grin. "_Nothing _will make me turn away from you at this moment."

Heart racing and surging with adoration, Ezra sighed internally in relief as Aria's lips turned up at the corners in a small smile. With the tension dissipated, there was nothing left to say, and the two parted from Hollis—for Aria, summer had already commenced—and drove to apartment 3B.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I've noticed around this fandom that writers are saying that Ezria "started with a cheeseburger." Aria wouldn't be ordering a cheeseburger because she's vegetarian. Plus, if you look at the bartender, he doesn't even look at Aria when that voice says, "Can I have a cheeseburger, please?" Instead, he's looking to the side. I know that Aria is a vegetarian in the books, but in season three when Aria's dad is being accused of hurting Alison and that cow brain is put in Mona's locker, Spencer says to Aria, "That's because you got out of dissection based on vegetarian grounds." Am I wrong?**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

It was a place she wanted to call home: the foreign film posters, the wilting potted plants, the abandoned typewriter used as a paperweight in the corner. It was absolutely everything Aria dreamed of and yearned for, but it couldn't be hers. People claimed that age was just a number—in her case, sometimes it just wasn't.

With blurry, red-tinted eyes, Aria glanced around Ezra's apartment as though it was her last day on Earth. And it might be, if her dad found out that her illicit affair was just made more illicit.

After closing the apartment door and locking it, Ezra noted that Aria was shaking. He set his bag and keys down, then held up the blanket folded up on the couch and placed it around Aria's shoulders. "Sit down," he said calmly. "You need to relax. Everything's going to be okay."

_I wish everything's going to be okay, _Aria thought. _But it's not. _

With a raspy voice, she replied calmly, "It's not just you and me anymore."

Ezra didn't respond; he still couldn't process what was flying through his head. There were so many things jumbled around, and he just couldn't find the words to express himself.

"Are you hungry?" he asked instead of replying to Aria's very true statement.

Sullenly, she nodded.

"I'll order your favorite then." Ezra picked up the phone and dialed their preferred takeout place.

As he did that, Aria adjusted herself more comfortably on the sofa and stared at the pictures lining Ezra's side tables and walls. Recently he started framing ones of her, and the one of her shadowy profile caught her eye. It was taken on her seventeenth birthday almost two months ago, in April, and she was holding the locket Ezra presented her with in her fingers, a small smile pasted on her lips. She had moved her hair over one shoulder, and before she knew it, Ezra had snapped a picture, and she had to admit, it was rather artistic. He even said that when he had some college friends over, they wanted to know all about the woman in the picture, labeled "mysterious" because she wasn't looking directly at the camera—and also because he'd never mentioned her to anybody.

She was so happy and in love, a young woman swept away by her first real romance. But they fell in love at the wrong time, and she so wished that what felt right could be viewed as right by the law.

Ezra appeared from the small kitchen with a steaming mug of tea in his hands. Handing it to her, he said, "This will make you feel better. I'm going to pick up the food. Do you want to come?"

Aria shook her head slowly, numbly. Everything felt like it was crashing down around her, and she could barely feel the broiling cup burn her palms.

Without a bit of hesitance, Ezra pecked her on the forehead. "I'll be back soon."

After hearing the door shut close, Aria managed to snap out of her reverie. There was a ring from her phone, and she shuffled through the blanket to find it. What she found made her heart shatter into a million pieces.

_Oh, Mr. Ezra Fitz… Are you guilty or innocent? Guess who's going to tell the police everything they know? Yes, you're right: moi! –A _

A cold shudder passed through Aria's core, reminding her of the pictures A texted her yesterday. There was absolutely nothing she could do that would make this situation all right. She would never turn Ezra in, so the other option was to wait for A to. There was no way that he would get off without getting in trouble.

But there was something Aria could do to escape it all, figuratively and literally: She could run away.

Bolting out of her place, she lunged for a piece of paper and quickly wrote something down before she could change her mind.

No one could prove anything Ezra was blamed for if she wasn't here.

As she yanked the necklace off from around her neck, she laid it next to the typewriter as she set the note inside. "Someone knows about us," it said. "Don't try to look for me."

She was hoping she could write Ezra a long, emotional letter describing how she felt about him, but she knew that she couldn't. A would be able to find her, and she just couldn't watch his reputation fall apart because of her.

Collecting her jacket, she folded the blanket and placed it on the armrest. She took one last look at the apartment and everything she loved about it before closing the door and starting at a fast pace away from complex and towards Hollis to pick up her car.

Tears dotted her eyes, and she knew she was a confused mess, but she kept going. And she didn't look back.

…

Mike was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard the front door slam shut. Ella and Byron weren't home from dinner yet, and that gave him plenty of time to think over what his sister had told him. As he pulled off his headphones, he saw Aria bolt past his bedroom door. "Aria?" he called out, dashing after her.

She was shoving clothes into the suitcase she'd brought with her to Iceland, and pained gasps were escaping her mouth. It almost looked like she was being tortured by the task. "What are you doing?" he asked her, feeling cold again.

"I'm leaving Rosewood," she explained simply while dropping her jewelry into a makeup bag.

"W-what?" Mike stammered, too surprised to protest. "Why?"

Aria stopped and looked at Mike with watery eyes. "This isn't an easy decision," she said, continuing with her packing, "but I can't have Ezra get in trouble." Then she halted again and gazed at Mike straight into his blue eyes. "Please tell him that."

Mike felt like he was frozen to his spot. "I thought you were with him."

"I was," she panted as she shoved a photo album in between her socks and shorts. "But he went out to get dinner, and I realized that it wouldn't be smart if I stayed here."

"I don't want you to leave," Mike finally spoke up his rejection.

Aria gave him the saddest, most pained look he'd ever seen. "I know." Her voice warbled. "I really know. But I have to."

With a forced smile on her face and the large suitcase in her hands, Aria planted a quick, friendly kiss on her brother's cheek. "I have to go now," she croaked, and without another word she walked away, down the stairs, and through the front door.

All Mike did was stand in front of his sister's bedroom. It was too much to process in one day. He could hear a car's engine rev and pull out of the driveway, but by the time he realized that this was no dream, it was too late.

She was already gone.

…

Entering his apartment, Ezra felt right away like something was wrong. The tea he made Aria sat in its mug, untouched, on the coffee table. The blanket he had wrapped around her shoulders was folded and placed neatly on the armrest. The typewriter which he never used had a piece of paper stuck in it with a couple of sentences written neatly on it, but all Ezra noticed was that Aria wasn't here.

He dropped the takeout on the kitchen table and ripped the note out of its place. In Aria's neat, curly scrawl, it read: _Someone knows about us. Don't try to find me._

Ezra felt like everything was in slow motion as he ran out the door, not bothering to lock it on the way out. With shaky hands he started his car and drove towards Aria's house, praying that she was still home.

While he tried to pay attention to the road, he couldn't help but be distracted by Aria's stricken face from before. But most of all, he couldn't stop thinking of the baby he only just found out about, and the one he'll never get to meet if she ran away.

…

When Ella and Byron silently arrived at their home after a pleasant dinner, they were met by a teary-eyed Mike pacing in the kitchen. Both were immediately alarmed.

"What's wrong, Mike?" Byron spoke up first. He could already sense the dread building in his stomach.

"Aria ran away," Mike stated simply, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"_What?_" Ella screamed. "Why? Where?"

"She didn't even tell me where she was going," was all Mike was able to sputter, falling into the nearest chair.

"Mike," Byron said sternly as he put a sturdy hand on his son's shoulder. "Do you know why she left?"

Swallowing, Mike nodded, his face pale. "She told me earlier today she was pregnant and—"

Ella's eyes really started to tear up and she put a horrified hand to her mouth. No response came from either parent.

Finally, Byron muttered with a dry mouth, "Holden?"

But Mike shook his head, his words spreading a numbness that fell over the whole family. "No... Mr. Fitz."

…

"Aria's _gone_?" Emily exclaimed after Spencer set the phone down. "Where? Did she say?"

Spencer shook her head glumly. "No. Mrs. Montgomery just asked me if we knew anything. She sounded really panicked."

Tears started forming in Emily's dark brown eyes. "No," she mumbled in denial. "She wouldn't just _leave._" She turned to Hanna, who was curled up next to her, her skin a pasty white. "Right? She would tell us if she was leaving?"

Heartbroken, Hanna only shrugged her shoulders before going back to chewing on her thumb and praying that the tears would stop flowing.

Spencer joined in the grieving group. Then, in an almost angry tone, she said, "I guess we didn't know her as well as we thought."

Meanwhile, Ezra pulled up in the driveway of the Montgomery house, kicking open his door and running up to the front. He was just about to knock when the door burst open, revealing a red-faced Byron Montgomery.

"What are you doing here?" the father of the love of his life growled.

"Is Aria here?" Ezra panted, looking over the man's shoulder and hoping to find Aria standing in the kitchen. Instead he saw a broken-looking Ella and a worried Mike.

"No," Byron spat. "She ran away because of you."

Ezra's face paled. "What?" He _knew_?

"Mike told us everything," he explained. "Now, get out of my face. I have a daughter to find."

With that, Byron slammed the door, leaving a speechless Ezra out on the doorstep. If Byron knew, would that mean he was going to turn him into the police? He thought Byron and Ella were just as worried about Aria's reputation as they were ready to avenge their "corrupted" daughter.

Whatever the case, Ezra was prepared to handle anything that was thrown in his way. After all, a life in prison sounded a whole heck of a lot better than a life without Aria Montgomery.

…

On a train headed to New York City, Aria sat, curled up, on a soft leather seat with her head resting on the cold windowsill. In her hand was her phone, which contained a short text from A: _You can run, but you can't hide. –A_

Aria was tired. Tired of running, and tired of hiding. Maybe she didn't leave Rosewood because she was scared of Ezra's reputation being at stake, but because she couldn't handle her life there anymore—couldn't handle A and their constant teasing and blackmailing.

Sniffling, she closed her eyes and let one last tear slip down her cheek. She thought of Ezra and the baby, of Mike and her parents. She even thought of her friends and how she never got to say good-bye. Sometime between buying her ticket and boarding the train did she realize that she was afraid of being on her own. But then she thought of the baby, of the new life she could have with him or her, and wasn't so scared anymore.

She thought her secret would be safe if she packed up and fled. A wouldn't follow her to New York. Her baby would be safe, and Ezra's reputation would be saved. Not a single resident in Rosewood other than the ones she told would know why she left. And no one did…for five years, anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: There will be no A after Mona, and Maggie and Malcolm don't exist. Aria's parents aren't divorced either.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Five years had passed, and Aria was now a proud graduate from a small college in New York. As she'd always planned, she majored in English and received a teaching license, hoping to teach people of any age just how important literature was to the world's many cultures. It was also something her and Ezra had dreamed about, both teaching at the same school…but those days were far from over. She was over him and over Rosewood; she had a new life now.

But that didn't stop her from going back.

Last time she had stepped foot into Rosewood, she was fleeing Ezra's apartment in fear that A would finally take charge and get Ezra into legal trouble. She also knew that if the citizens of Rosewood learned of her illegitimate child, they would shun her, her family, and worst of all, her child's future. She couldn't let that happen, so she left—and never received another A message again.

Of course, A had been revealed to be Mona Vanderwaal, Hanna's best friend who was once horribly bullied by Alison. She had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and shipped off to Radley, and Aria assumed she'd stayed there since.

Occasionally Aria would go on Facebook and see what her friends back home were doing. When she was eight months pregnant, she watched as Hanna uploaded pictures of her, Spencer, and Emily playing around in the snow and giving each other presents for Christmas. Emily had even posted a status Christmas Day that said, "Best Christmas yet. I only wish all my friends and family were here. Xoxo."

To the outside world, it seemed ordinary, but Aria knew that that was Emily's attempt at crying out for her. Spencer had commented, "Miss her like crazy," and Hanna had joined in and added, "So do I, and so does he." Aria's stomach had churned when she read that, knowing who "he" was. Her friends must have contacted him in hopes that Aria had given away her location, and in the meantime grieved together.

In her moment of weakness, Aria had opened up her email and typed in Emily, Spencer, and Hanna's addresses. She attached pictures of herself, some showing off her baby bump; of her cluttered apartment stashed with books and clothes; and even of her few ultrasounds. All three girls had replied, ecstatic that they had finally heard from Aria after months of being ignored. Spencer and Emily wished her congratulations and asked how school in New York was (she allowed her parents, who she knew she couldn't ignore, to tell her friends that much, as long as they didn't spill to Ezra) while Hanna told her to detail her about the gender and chosen baby names. Aria had smiled and laughed the most she had in a long while, up until two in the morning corresponding with them.

Eventually that prompted her to invite them to visit her in New York. It was winter break, and they took the train over on New Year's and would stay until the sixth, since they had to go back to school on the seventh.

When the girls first saw Aria waiting for them on the platform, they had surrounded her and attempted to give her a group hug, baby bump included. "Oh my God, look at you!" Emily had exclaimed as Hanna added, "You're so big!" Aria rose an eyebrow, snorted, and looked at Spencer. "Do you have anything else to add?" she had asked, provoking Spencer to respond, "Don't worry, I won't undermine your motherhood."

Laughing, they linked arms and headed to Aria's apartment, Hanna, who was on Aria's right, one time stating, "I think your daughter just kicked me. I swear my elbow felt it!"

That night, as they shouted and drank sparkling cider to a Happy New Year, Aria instinctually burst into tears. "What's wrong?" Spencer asked, alarmed, as she wrapped her arms around Aria's shoulders. Aria simply replied, "Sometimes I remember he's not here." The group quieted into an awkward silence, save for Aria's small sobs, and Hanna pulled something out of her pocket.

"He gave us each a copy if we ever saw you before he did," she explained, handing it to Aria. With shaky hands, Aria took it and immediately recognized Ezra's handwriting. "We talked for a while after you left. He kept saying he was looking for you. There were weeks when he'd disappear out of Rosewood just to find you. He still works at Hollis."

The girls filed for bed, but Aria was wide awake. She curled up on her mattress and took shelter under her blanket, rereading the letter over and over again with a flashlight illuminating his words. Basically he described how much he missed her, how much he loved her, and how much he wanted to be in their baby's life. But Aria still didn't have the courage to face him, and didn't answer the girls when they asked if she was going to write back.

Then on the sunny, snowy day of January third, Aria's water had broken a bit early. A few laborious hours later, she had welcomed Josephine Ava Fitz into the world with the girls by her side. They were even there to send her home, wishing her a happy end to senior year before they packed up their bags and left.

That was ages ago. After Josie was born, Aria had invited her parents to visit. She especially wanted to thank Byron for paying for homeschooling, and for helping her get into college the next year. Ella ogled over Josie, and then they left. That's how the rest of her college life went: She would study and her parents and friends would visit. And after a few years away from Ezra Fitz, she assumed she was finally over him, too.

…

Spencer Hastings was diligently working on her UPenn paper on Pennsylvanian laws when she heard a chime indicating she had a new email. Strangely, it was from Ella Montgomery, and for a moment Spencer's body went cold assuming the worst about Aria or little Josephine; they had given each other emails when Aria went missing, and she couldn't think of any other reason that she would contact her. But when she opened it, it was just a short message.

_Aria is back in Rosewood. She'll be here around 4. Feel free to come on over. Ella Montgomery._

As shock registered on Spencer's face, she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a three-way conversation between her, Emily, and Hanna. "Did you get Mrs. Montgomery's email? Is Aria really coming back to Rosewood?"

"I'm going. I haven't seen her and Josie since last summer!" Emily said.

"Same here. Last I heard from her, she was too upset to talk. She said she needed some time to herself, but it's been a whole year already. I think she'd really appreciate us there," Hanna added.

Sighing, Spencer shut off her laptop. "All right. See you there in fifteen."

…

It was a beautiful day for a walk.

Ezra Fitz had just finished a day of hard grading at Hollis College and decided to walk back to his apartment instead of take his car. The school year had just ended, and spring was turning into summer—which meant a whole other year had passed without a single trace of Aria Montgomery.

Since she had left five years ago, Ezra had been desperate. Her friends and family had no clue where she went, and so he made an attempt to find her by himself. A year after he hadn't heard from her, he knew that if she had the baby, it would have been born a couple months ago. But he had no way to trace a birth certificate, and Fitz was a common name in the U.S. Eventually he settled back into Rosewood with a broken heart, wondering if Aria felt any guilt for stripping him of his child's life.

He had tried dating after Aria left, but it never seemed to work out. It's not like he didn't like the women he was taking out. It was just that they always noticed that his mind was somewhere else—thinking of _someone _else. They were all kind letting him know that he was still in love with that someone else. So he gave up dating for good, knowing that it was going to take more than two years to get over Aria and the secret she fled with.

A car passed by, halting at the stop sign Ezra was approaching. The person took a right, and a cold wave of recognition passed over Ezra's entire body, freezing him to the sidewalk.

Rounding the corner was Aria.

As the car zoomed away from his view, he leaned against a lamppost, heart racing, and thought back to what he saw. He could pick out her face anywhere, yet it could be his mind playing tricks on him. After all, he _was _thinking about her. He could have easily imagined the person in the driver's seat to be someone they weren't.

But he wasn't so sure at all.

When Aria disappeared, Ezra was able to convince himself that it was all for his own good. If Aria had stayed and this person who knew about them revealed that he had gotten a former student pregnant, he would be in jail and deprived of his child's life with no way around it. He just hoped that Aria would come back or at least contact him so that he could see her and the baby. But her disappearance was just as good as jail, because she was nowhere.

After Mona was revealed as A at the end of what would have been Aria's senior year, Ezra was horrified that someone had been threatening Aria and her friends with their secrets. And suddenly, a new idea formed in Ezra's head: Could Aria had left to escape from A? Was it A who made Aria flee?

_Rain pattered on the windows of Ezra's small apartment as lightning flashed, lighting up the room like the TV screen illuminated the couple's faces. Aria had fallen fast asleep on Ezra's chest, her smooth, even breathing making Ezra smile. They were watching _Chinatown,_ a movie Ezra knew Aria couldn't make it through without a short nap near the end. She looked beautiful even with her eyes closed and her mouth relaxed, and Ezra pulled her closer as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder._

_Ezra didn't notice at first, but her mouth had turned down into a frown and her eyebrows had crinkled in distress. It was when her breathing started to become erratic that Ezra looked down concernedly at his Sleeping Beauty and realized she must have been having a nightmare. He sat up straight and laid her down on his lap, her arm flinging up to hit him in self-defense. But with his fast reflexes he managed to catch her flailing hand before it caved in his nose, and he yelled, "Aria! Aria, wake up!"_

_She gasped in fear as her eyes shot open, for a moment recollecting her pounding thoughts and her eyes darting around her surroundings. Ezra's anxious face loomed above her, and a relieved, watery smile appeared on her lips as her eyes started to tear up. "You're okay," she croaked while caressing his cheek with her hand._

_He placed his own hand over hers and squeezed it in reassurance, giving her one of his boyish smiles. "I'm right here."_

"_I had a dream where the police came and took you away from me," she explained tearfully, scooting upwards so that she sat in his lap. Ezra gave her a sweet peck on the nose, their faces close together. _

"_I'm not going anywhere."_

Now Ezra guessed that the dream had been about A revealing their clandestine, illicit relationship. But A—Mona—had been locked up for years. If she truly loved him, she would have come back knowing that there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. He just had to accept the fact that her life was probably better somewhere else.

But he couldn't let her go.

…

Compared to the rest of the neighborhood's houses, the Montgomerys' was more European and rustic instead of American colonial. That's what Aria loved so much about her old home. It was unique and beautiful, and her serious expression melted a bit when she saw it in the near distance.

Pulling into the driveway, Aria was surprised to see her parents and her friends crowding the front door. She wasn't exactly looking forward to a warm welcome when her heart was shattered into bits. Eyebrows raised, she put her Prius into park and opened the door, and her eyes were immediately met by beaming faces.

"Welcome home, baby girl," Ella welcomed with a sniffle. "We're so glad you're home."

"And finished with school," Byron added, his face full of pride.

"It's great to see you, too," Aria simply replied with a sincere smile on her face, despite all the hurt she had inside. And with that, she pulled them all into a hug, noting that many tears were shed.

Hanna peered over Aria's shoulder at the car, trying to see through the windows. "Where's our favorite little girl?" she cooed, referring to the baby Aria fled with five years ago.

Pulling away, everyone noticed that the corner of Aria's eye twitched. She smiled weakly and strutted over to the trunk before tugging out her bags. "Dad, can you help me?" she asked without responding to Hanna's question.

"Sure, honey," he said, giving everyone a confused look that matched their own.

While passing by the group, Aria only gave them a twisted grin before pushing everyone aside, leaving Hanna to question what she had done wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It was so awkward to watch Aria go on that date with Jake on Tuesday. There wasn't really much chemistry, and for some reason absolutely NO Ezra. How depressing for PLL Day. **

**Anyway, I really appreciate the reviews for the last chapter, so here's the next one I promised! Keep the reviews flowing!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

A thick layer of dust had formed on the surfaces since Aria had bolted five years ago, but other than that, her bedroom was the same as when she had left. It seemed as though no one had touched it, afraid that if they did, she would never come back or they would leave a curse on the family.

"We're so glad you're home!" exclaimed Emily for the fifth time, trying to avoid the topic that really needed to be discussed.

"It's great to be back," Aria replied stonily while putting on a forced smile. She placed her luggage on her bed, gazing at the books that lined the shelf above it. "I can't believe it's really been five years," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

"We can't believe it either," Spencer croaked as she struggled with her vocal chords not to spurt out what they really wanted to say.

Aria turned around and beamed at her friends, but her heart-shaped face looked absolutely broken. "I'm thinking of applying at Rosewood High," she squealed. "Wouldn't that be great? My mom said there's an open teaching position." Sighing, she swiveled on her heels again and unzipped her valise. "A fresh start is really what I need."

Hanna bit her lip. "Does that new start include Josie?"

The three friends watched Aria's shoulders tense. "Maybe one day," she murmured.

"Where is she, anyway?" Spencer asked.

"O-oh," stuttered Aria. "Um, she's…places."

Always the sympathetic one, Emily placed a pacifying hand to Aria's strained shoulder. She could feel it relax slightly under her touch. "Is there something you're not telling us, Aria?" she prodded as nicely as she could. "Did something _happen_?"

Aria shrugged her off and stormed to her closet, clothes in hand. "No, no, of course not! Don't worry about anything."

Hanna was dumbfounded. Did her friend lose her mind? Whenever she visited Aria in New York, Aria had really gotten the hang of being a mother, and possibly a great one by the way she ogled over Josie. Now what had happened? "B-but what about Josephine?"

Shaking her head, Aria finished hanging up what she had in her hands and instead slipped out a folder with a Rosewood High application. "You know what, I think I'm going to go get this over with." She started shooing them out. "Talk to you guys later?"

Each girl sent an equally confused glance at Aria's taut face, and it was only when she shut the door and she was alone did she begin to sob.

…

After washing her face and hiding her sorrow with thoughtful, simplistic makeup, Aria followed her mother out of the house and piled into her car. "Do you still remember the way?" Ella asked as Aria unrolled the window.

"I think so," Aria responded, smoothing out her black dress that was hopefully sophisticated and not gothic, bohemian, or skimpy. Some things never change.

"There shouldn't be anything going on today, so parking won't be a problem."

Aria scoffed and started the engine, swiftly putting it into drive. "That's the least of my worries, Mom."

"Good luck!" Ella shouted in support while Aria pulled out of the driveway, sending her mother a wave before roaring down the road.

And it appeared as though Rosewood hadn't changed much, either. There was still the same mall with the same stores, the same police officers on duty (as far as she could see), and the same high school that looked exactly like Aria remembered it.

But it seemed like her mother had lied; almost every parking space was full, yet it didn't look like there was a game going on. Stepping out of her car, she readjusted her dress for the umpteenth time and gazed at the school. She felt like she was walking to her execution. "Here goes," she whispered under her breath, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. With that, she straightened her back and proudly strutted to the building, high heels adorned with subtle studs reflecting off the sun.

Yes, some things never change.

…

It was another boring Hollis meeting that almost—but barely—put everyone in the room to sleep. And it just so happened that Ezra Fitz was one of them.

As much as he wanted to doze off, he also knew that this job meant everything to him. Ever since Aria just ran away without ever getting in contact again, Ezra worked his pain away. He hated calling himself a workaholic, but that's sadly what he was.

The Hollis auditorium was being renovated, so the meeting took place in the Rosewood High gym. It echoed annoyingly and smelled like repulsive sweat, but no one seemed to mind; they were too bored to think straight.

As soon as the meeting ended, faculty rushed out of the building like a swarm of bees. Ezra chuckled as he was bumped more than once, maybe because he was taking his jolly time. He had nowhere else to be, after all.

Rounding the corner that led to the entrance, Ezra picked up a scent that he hadn't smelled in a while: light and flowery with a touch of fruit. His heart plummeted when he recognized why it was so familiar: It was Aria's favorite fragrance.

Turning around, he headed back to the gym, feeling like a confused puppy. Why was he still pining after her, anyway? Was he becoming delusional?

Instead, he turned around on his heels, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and started to the hallway again. That's when he saw her crossing the intersection leading straight to the exit. She was too busy fumbling with her purse, but she felt his presence and looked up, her lips forming an impeccable O.

But that was all in a blimp of a second. For all he knew, she didn't even see him, and he had just made it up in his head. Though he couldn't see her anymore, he could still hear her heels on the linoleum.

Why was he just standing there? He had no idea. Maybe because she always seemed to stun him. "Wait!" he called out and jogged, but by the time he reached the exit doors, she was gone.

Pounding his fist on the opposing wall, Ezra pressed his forehead to the cool area right below his gripped hand. His head might as well explode. He had already deemed himself officially insane.

Meanwhile, Aria skittered as fast as her choice of shoes could carry her to her awaiting car. Panting, she rapidly clambered inside, slammed the door, and pulled out of the Rosewood High parking lot. As she clumsily drove past the exit doors, she could see Ezra curled up on the wall, his face hiding under his arm. Tears pricked her eyes and she inhaled an audible, shaky breath. She was strictly against using her phone when driving, but this was important. Dialing her phone, she sniffled loudly when it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, Spencer," she croaked, trying to hold it together. "Listen, I'm sorry about how I acted. Can I come over now? It's…it's urgent." She then hung up and threw her phone on the backseat. When she reached a stoplight, she angrily wiped at her pouring eyes, upset. She probably smeared the makeup everywhere, but she didn't care.

She just had to get away from here.

…

"He was there and I just ran away from him," Aria sobbed while Hanna dabbed at her ruined makeup sympathetically.

They were all huddled in Spencer's living room. Each of the girls was staying with their respected families during the summer before embarking back to college—at least, Spencer, anyway. In fact, Spencer had already made plans with her friends to visit her lake house and go camping. At first, she had been hesitant about planning it, asking herself if it was rude to ask Aria to leave Josie somewhere while they enjoyed a weekend in the mountains.

Now Spencer wrapped an arm around her weeping friend's shoulder and gave her a small, encouraging smile. "Call him," she suggested. "You'll only be miserable until you talk to him."

Aria sniffled as another tear cascaded down her cheek. "It's not that simple," she refused. "He was going to take care of me and hold my hand, and I just bolted out of Rosewood." She gazed at the black-stained tissues in her hand and sadly added, "He probably doesn't even want to talk to me."

But his shattered posture as she left the high school said otherwise.

Spencer nudged Aria with her cell phone, Ezra's contact information already pulled up. "_Call him,_" she repeated and placed it in her hand. Gulping, Aria's heart pounded as she put the phone up against her ear and watched her friends silently scatter away upstairs to give her some privacy.

When his voicemail came up, she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip to prevent more tears. It was just so good to hear his _voice._ "Hey, it's me…Aria," she began after the beep. "Listen, I'm back in Rosewood, and I want to talk to you. I'll be at the Grille tonight at six if you want to meet me there… If not, call me back please." Then she quickly added, "I really need to speak with you," before hanging up and falling back on the couch, a moan escaping her lips.

There was no turning back now.

…

Later that afternoon, Ezra put aside his book and decided to check his phone. He wanted an undisturbed few hours after swearing he saw Aria twice today, and had turned it off. As it loaded, he was surprised to see that he had a voicemail…from Aria.

The blood drained from his face. Aria? He must be misreading things. But when he blinked, her name was still there. He blinked twice more, yet it still didn't go away.

This was the real thing.

Shakily, he pressed _Listen _and shut his eyes as her voice erupted in his eardrum. It hurt him to hear her so devastated and uncertain if he would even want to speak with her.

After he regained his composure, he checked the time and saw that it was almost 5:30. Bolting off the couch, he shrugged off his lazy clothes and hastily put on something nicer.

He had to see her, too.

…

The Grille was packed for a Thursday night. The bells jingled as Ezra pushed open the door, and music blasted from the speakers as people chatted noisily, their conversations just a buzz in Ezra's ears. At first sweep, no one seemed to be alone.

Then he saw her by herself at the bar: a woman with long, dark hair cascading down her back, a lone drink in her hand. She looked out of place within the mob of chattering, laughing people. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was bitter.

Approaching her, Ezra called out her name uncertainly. "Aria?" For a second, he wasn't sure if the name had come out of his mouth. Then her head flung around to meet him and Ezra's heart stopped and feet froze at her recognizable profile.

Her hands, which had been tensely wrapped around the glass, moved: one placed on the counter and the other draped around her chair as she swiveled her body to meet him better. "I was hoping you'd come here," Aria whispered, tears filling up in her perfectly black-lined eyes.

Ezra was absolutely speechless. He opened his mouth to say something, but just couldn't find the words. Everything seemed too hasty or sappy in his head.

But Aria came to his rescue. Smiling slightly, she patted the seat next to her. "Please, sit down."

Reluctantly Ezra accepted the offer, feeling strangely uncomfortable as his eyes skimmed over her. This was his chance to absorb everything new about her as she ordered another drink. She didn't look much different; just skinnier and a bit curvier. Her face seemed to mature a little, too.

Eventually she set her gaze on him again, taking a sip of scotch. Clearing her throat, she set it aside and kept her eyes on her lap. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah," Ezra replied, and the coldness in his voice that he didn't mean to use made Aria's head jolt up in surprise. He also cleared his throat awkwardly and stared at the condensation on her glass. "But you don't have to say it all right now."

Aria played with her fingers, sliding the ring Ezra had given her for her birthday years ago unknowingly up and down in a nervous habit. "I don't even know what to say. There's so much to talk about."

"Can we start with what you left with?" Ezra asked, straight to the point.

Aria swirled her glass, the liquid almost sloshing over, before taking a large gulp. "What do you mean?"

Ezra dropped his voice and locked his eyes with hers. He didn't want to be angry, but he just was—because he loved her enough to be angry with her. "You know exactly what I mean."

Her Adam's apple bobbed as she swallowed and she shifted her eyes away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. The baby."

Aria's eye twitched noticeably, and she looked dazed. "What baby?"

"The one you left with!" Ezra lightly pounded the counter. He was hurting and hated to admit it. Then he added in a softer voice, "The one that was ours."

There was a short moment of silence which Aria broke with an "Oh." Licking her lips, she stuttered, "Yes, Josephine."

The shock was too much for one night. He was the father of a little girl? "Josephine?"

"Yes."

"Where is she? At home?"

And immediately Ezra knew something was wrong when she shook her head and her eyes watered. "No," she whispered, choking on a sob. So badly he wanted to skim his thumb across her cheek, or take the hand she had placed over her twisted mouth. Now he felt horrible for overreacting and being angry at her.

"Then where is she?" Ezra coaxed while leaning forward, his blue eyes seeing the pain in her hazel ones.

Aria sniffed and dropped her hand from her mouth, ashamed. "I gave her away."

* * *

**So maybe it's not that exciting, but it's not common, is it? I've read a lot of stories where Aria leaves Rosewood and has the baby, but rarely have I read one where she's given it away. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This should have been updated a long time ago, but I struggled while writing it. I can honestly say I'm not as proud with this chapter, but hopefully it's enough for you. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Eight**

The words practically bulldozed Ezra over, knocking him in the gut. "W-what?"

Aria gulped and shrugged before repeating herself. "I gave her away."

Ezra's heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest. "What do you mean, you gave her away?" He wanted to keep ranting and say, "How could you do that to her? To _me_? It wasn't only your choice. I said I'd be there for you, but you ran away."

Sighing, Aria began her story. After all, he deserved an explanation more than anyone else. "No one knew she wasn't mine anymore. It was my freshman year, and my grades were dropping. I couldn't repeat my classes knowing I knew the material. I just couldn't concentrate… The baby kept me awake, and she was so needy, I barely had time to study… And one day, I just snapped. I loved her so, _so_ much, but I also knew that I was young. I couldn't take care of a baby. So I wrote her up for an open adoption, and a nice couple took her in. She was only a year old. Whenever my friends or family visited, I took her home to make it look like I had done nothing wrong. I still had the crib and her toys because I was too afraid that if I sold them, I'd try to take her back. My friends had no idea."

Ezra was speechless. What was there to say to a story like that?

Aria circled her index finger around the rim of her glass, keeping her eyes off Ezra. "She lives in New York. I can visit her whenever I want." But she couldn't help the memories from flowing back.

_"She's not that fussy, but she's a light sleeper."_

_The old woman took in the young mother before her, and sadly realized she was a sight for sore eyes. She wore absolutely no makeup, which only made the shadows under her eyes worse, and her shirt had a stain on it. The year-old baby squirmed in her arms as she adjusted the blanket around it, and Mrs. Springfield could read the adoration in her eyes. But now, they were clouded with exhaustion. _

_The first time Mrs. Springfield met Aria Montgomery, they sat down in her living room and talked about themselves. Whenever Aria mentioned Josephine, her entire body lit up and she retold a funny story that included late-night studying and vomit. She had worn a nice-fitting dress, had her hair in soft curls, and lined her eyes. Now, it was like she was meeting an entirely different person._

_"She has no food allergies as of yet. Oh, and she can't sleep without her pig puppet." Aria finally looked away from her baby and gave Mrs. Springfield a desperate look. "I want to keep the adoption open so that I can see her. I also don't want my friends or family knowing that I gave her away."_

_Mrs. Springfield was happy to take in the child, but she could tell that doing so was like ripping out the mother's heart. "I'm sure we can work something out," she reassured, adding a warm, pleasant grin._

_A flash of relief passed over Aria's tension-filled features, and her eyes became watery. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Springfield." She then looked at Josephine, kissed her on her tiny head, and whispered, "I love you." It was so fast, Mrs. Springfield barely noticed the motherly pass._

_Arms shaky, Aria handed her baby away. While she did so, she felt like her heart was being pulled and squeezed, and she'd wished it could just be torn out of her chest. Mrs. Springfield noticed a silver necklace around the baby's neck and studied it curiously. "This is beautiful craftsmanship."_

_It was a heart with an engraved A on it. Aria managed to crack a smile when she saw it. "Someone special gave it to me a long time ago." Mrs. Springfield now looked at Aria like she was the strangest person in the world. "It's not the original, but I ordered a copy. I just want Josephine to have a bit of both of her parents with her at all times." Gurgling, the baby put the necklace in her mouth. Aria smiled and her eyes filled with tears. "Can I hold her one last time?"_

_The familiarity of her child in her arms made her want to cling on like there was no tomorrow. But instead, Aria kissed her baby daughter on the forehead again as a tear escaped down her cheek. "I'm sorry it had to be this way," she whispered. _

_And she was. She really was._

"Aria?" She looked so lost, Ezra could've sworn she'd left the planet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Aria snapped as her concentration broke. She forced a smile on her face and nodded, though her eyes were watering. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

For the first time Ezra realized that Aria's pain was equivalent to his own—and he knew that it hurt, badly. "Because you're crying," he said, reaching out a hand and wiping her cheek gently.

"It's just hard sometimes," Aria confessed as the salty drops kept rolling, but somehow she managed to scoff. "And I feel like a horrible mother."

"Aria, you did what you could," Ezra reassured her. He knew nothing about being a parent, but he knew what it was like to lose someone he loved more than anything in the world. "You were young. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Aria seemed taken aback. "How many times have I said that I'm the one who should be sorry? _I'm _the one who ran away. _I'm _the one who stole your daughter from you. _I'm _the one who gave her away." Her hazel eyes were threatening to overflow now. "Oh, God!" Whipping around in her chair, she continued to cry into her sleeve as Ezra watched her shoulders shake helplessly.

Carefully, he put a tender hand on her back and stood up. "Let me take you home," he offered. Obviously she wasn't ready to talk, and Ezra respected that because he respected her.

Blinking away the blurriness, Aria sniffled and agreed. "All right," she gave in. On the way out, though, she stopped him. "But Ezra…" His eyes looked especially blue under the moonlight, and again she was reminded of the daughter she left behind. "I meant it. I really am sorry."

…

Coming home that night, to say the least, was hard. It was nearing midnight, and Aria sighed as she opened her parents' door, emotionally drained from the evening. She'd promised Ezra to call tomorrow and they'd talk over whatever needed to be covered, and honestly Aria was relieved their time together was over for the day.

Because for Aria, Ezra had always been a confusing aspect of her life she never seemed to understand. Whenever she placed him under one category, she questioned it and moved him to another; she hated to admit that she was almost playing with his heart when she was younger. Now that she was out of college and ready to settle into adult life, she knew that the best they could do right now was take it slow.

Trudging up the stairs, Aria jumped when she saw her mom sitting in the dimmed corner. "Mom!" she exclaimed while putting a hand to her racing chest. "What are you doing up?"

"I was waiting for you," Ella replied, sighing as she stood up and invited her daughter to sit next to her on the couch. Though she felt caught in a criminal act, Aria sat down.

"So," Ella began, brushing a lock of hair over her daughter's shoulder, "how did tonight with Ezra go?"

Aria's doe-like eyes widened to their capacity. "How did you know?" she stuttered, surprised.

Ella grinned almost wickedly. "Mother's intuition," she responded, but Aria still gave her a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Or maybe I overhead you leaving a voicemail on my way down the stairs to do laundry."

"Oh." Aria's throat felt dry and scratchy, something she hadn't felt since high school. Then, out of nowhere, she admitted it all. "I told him."

No one but A and Aria's friends had known that Ezra already knew, so Ella assumed that by "I told him" Aria meant that she told Ezra about his child. "Really?" Ella asked softly. "How'd he take it?"

Aria scoffed. "Better than I would have."

Soothingly, Ella rubbed circles on her daughter's back. "But you told him," she comforted her. "And now you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Biting her bottom lip, Aria sniffed and looked up at her mom with the same reflective eyes she'd given Ezra that night. "Mom." Her voice cracked. "I haven't been completely honest with you.

Curious, Ella raised an eyebrow. "What is it, sweetie?"

When Aria opened her cracked lips, she was met by a sadly familiar salty taste of her tears. "After Josie was born…," she started, "…I couldn't keep up with my schoolwork. And Mom—" Aria had to stop as her throat constricted her voice. "—I don't know why I did it."

"Did what?" Ella asked in a calm tone, but she already had a good idea where this was going.

"She's not mine anymore," Aria spluttered out and collapsed into her mother's waiting arms. "And she never was."

As the news processed in Ella's head, she held her daughter close, eventually squeezing her so hard she wondered if it would be possible to ever let go.

…

The clock was approaching one in the morning, yet Ezra found himself still wide awake, lying on his bed while his fingers played around with the locket he'd given Aria years ago. Without thought, his index finger traced the large, loopy A, and he pried it open to reveal two people, their heads covered with paper bags. Though Aria had left with so much more, he was grateful she had left behind something.

Nothing had changed, really. There were still the same pictures hanging on the wall, and the same picture frame on his nightstand. Five years, and he still hadn't found a way to get over her. He searched but he came up with nothing. Even her friends had no ideas. And after a year had passed, he knew he'd missed more than the birth of his secret child.

So many questions rolled around in his head, yet he couldn't bring himself to ask her. Just a couple questions and she'd broken down into a sorry sight. He couldn't imagine what she'd been through. But he also wondered if she ever thought of the pain she'd put him through, staying up until the early morning. He certainly felt guilty for the longest time. Had she?

_Tomorrow_, Ezra reassured himself. He'll get all his questions answered tomorrow.

As he closed his eyes and surrendered to slumber, a memory flashed in front of him: Aria, her face leaning closer to his as she pushed aside his overgrown curls from his forehead, her round, hazel orbs sparkling in the soft light of his apartment. "I love you," she whispered, and the breath hitched in his throat. She was the first one to say it, and it'd taken him by surprise.

That's what he loved about Aria Montgomery: She was definitely full of surprises.


End file.
